Avg. Joe

When Jerry Bruckheimer committed to produce "Coyote Ugly," I don't think he was intending to remake "The Wizard of Oz" or "Gone With the Wind," widely regarded at two of the greatest movies of all time. And while I don't think "Coyote Ugly" is one of even the fifty greatest movies of all time, I did like it for what it was; a cute little movie that can lift your spirits when you're down.

Violet Sanford, played by the heartbreakingly sexy Piper Perabo, decides to pick up and leave her smalltown New Jersey existence - much to the chagrin of her toll-booth operator father, played by John Goodman in a show-stealing performance - for the Big Apple for a shot at success in the music business. Once there, she finds out there's a lot more to it than simply having great songs. One night, she happens upon one "Mr." O'Donnell (or Kevin, played by Adam Garcia) and gives him her demo tape thinking he's in the biz. When it turns out that he's nothing more than a guy who works odd jobs, she gets disgusted when he won't leave her alone (she's so cute when she say "So, I'm going to say 'good night...'").

After more meetings, a rather embarrassing, um, performance at an open-mike night (which we get to see her legendary stage fright) and being robbed, she happens upon three women, one of them who is saying goodbye to the other two, at an all-night eatery. "Are they hookers?" she asks excitedly. "No," says the dive owner as he hands her a matchbox with the name of a bar, the infamous "Coyote Ugly;" "They're coyotes!" She then decides to "audition" for the empty slot.

Somehow, over time, she impresses the hard-as-nails owner Lil, played with /chutzpah/ by Maria Bello, formerly of "ER," with her way with rowdy New Yorkers ready to get into a fight over a girl, her ability to raise $250 in two minutes by auctioning off an intimate night with Kevin as a means of payback and saving her fellow waitresses from impending trouble by singing along to "One Way or Another" by Blondie on the jukebox.

And while she falls in love with Kevin (who helps her get over her stage fright), she disappoints her father when he finds out that she's working at what he must believe is a strip bar, having seen his buddies at work putting her picture up in their toll-booth windows.

I think that the screenplay could be written a little better (Gina Wendkos does a better job with "The Princess Diaries" in my opinion). But the directing here is adequate; and I feel that, all things considered, the movie is well-acted; Melanie Lynskey was cute as Violet's long-time, always loyal friend. It's quite interesting to see Bridget Moynihan and Tyra Banks, two models, cast in the movie, Moynihan as the sexy "New York b****" and Tyra Banks as the sexy law student (who I would have liked to have seen more of). I feel that both of them held their own. And Izabella Miko was hot as Cammie, "The Russian Tease!"

I love the use of music throughout the film, including Violet's songs, which were actually written by Diane Warren, as well as the music played at the bar. Being of the male persuasion, I can't help but love the dance numbers with the Coyotes - love those outfits especially (even if it's really stunt dancers). And I can tolerate the sappy love story. Overall, this is a fun movie for anybody who needs to be cheered up (and who /doesn't/ these days!?).

9 out of 10.

With all the hype surrounding "Waiting to Exhale," I was looking forward to renting it on video. It's nice to know that someone has made a movie with four strong, independent African-American women.

But when I saw it - and maybe this is me ranting because I, being a white male, am not part of the target audience - I was annoyed by all the whining, especially regarding that the men that these women were sleeping with/getting divorced from were leaving them for white women.

I can understand them being upset, even furious, with all of the philandering. But they act as if it would be OK if the men left them for other African-American women. Not to make light of the issues of racism, adultery, or divorce, but I can image Bernadine saying, "Hey, Savannah, I see that you're sleeping with my husband. Care if I join in!?" (Apologies to those who may take offense).

Speaking of Savannah, why is Whitney Houston complaining about finding the right man when she seems to be able to have sexual relations with any man that has matinee idol looks and a job - not to mention is *MARRIED*. I guess that any man who isn't married is a loser to Whitney.

Having not read the book, I realize that this is merely an adaptation - or, for Terry McMillan's sake, I hope it is. I'm not knocking any of the acting. Angela Bassett, Whitney Houston, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine, as well as the supporting cast, are all talented and do commendable jobs. And Forest Whitaker proves himself to be a talented director. It's just that the lion's share of the characters come off as unsympathetic.

I realize that I'm merely scratching the surface, but I've wasted enough time on this movie. "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," the movie which describes Frankie Lymon's battles with the recording industry and liasons (sp) with three different women, one of which is Rochon, is a far superior movie and worth at least $5 of the $6 that I paid to see it.

I give this one 2 out of 10.

"New Jack City" is probably one of the best films of the early 1990s. Here we have the story of Nino Brown, played powerfully by Wesley Snipes, a drug lord hell-bent on contaminating the community, particularly the African-American community, with crack cocaine. Recruited to stop him are Scotty Applewhite and Nick Perreti, played respectively by Ice-T and Judd Nelson.

There is much doubt about these two officers because of their shady pasts. And a big brouhaha occurs when Applewhite recruits a kid named Pookie - played brilliantly by comedian Chris Rock in one of his early roles - a former "runner" (which is street for dealer) turned addict himself. Ice puts Pookie on the road to recovery and sends him in to infiltrate the CMB (Cash Money Brothers), Brown's underworld organization. When things start to go wrong, Applewhite decides to infiltrate the group himself.

All in all this is a great movie. I love the producers' use of music throughout the movie as a means of setting the tone for this cinematic war on drugs. Mario Van Peeples does an excellent job of directing and does a pretty good job playing the officer who recruits Applewhite and Perreti. Ice-T is excellent in one of his earliest roles and, thus, has proven to be a good character actor. And the supporting cast is top-notch. Michael Michelle (of "ER" fame) is totally sexy as an early financeer of CMB and an initial love interest of Snipes.

I could surely live without Judd Nelson as Nick Perreti though. Throughout the movie he looks like he's trying to be this bad-a** biker cop and comes off as though he's trying to be black, though his response to a comment made by Rock regarding a Marvin Gaye song suggests that maybe he's a bit of a racist. Casting Nelson makes me wonder sometimes "WHAT THE F*** WERE THEY THINKING??? A BRAT-PACKER???"

The ending to the movie could be stronger as well as it seems a bit cut-and-paste for my taste. I feel that they could've shown more testimony from more of the different players. However, they do redeem themselves with a violent confrontation between Nino Brown and an elderly World-War II veteran who had been evicted from the apartment building that the CMB now occupied and who had since been hounding him with phrases like (and this is not an exact quote), "Your soul is required for a meeting in Hell, you idolater."

I suggest that you look past Judd Nelson's weak acting and the cut-and-paste ending and check this movie out. Sadly, this story still holds true today even if some of the players are different.

I give this one 9 of 10.